232 THE PRACTICAL FISHERMAN. 



angler cares to render his fishing book as complete as possible, he must 

 spend much time and trouble and money in so doing. Not only this, 

 he also must tax his utmost ingenuity in the selection of materials, 

 and as a guerdon for such pleasurable exercise of, perhaps, the most 

 satisfactory of all man's faculties, he finds himself a better and a more 

 successful angler. Suppose it were possible to imitate a fly and I do 

 not doubt but it is as closely as the Tussauds imitate criminals, or a 

 good copyist painter imitates a Raphael, a Titian, or Velasquez, can Mr. 

 Pennell contend that his typical flies would in such case be superior ? To 

 do so would be absurd. 



As it is, the young angler or the novice at fly fishing, for both of whom 

 I am now specially writing, need not burden themselves with the number- 

 less varieties which delight the sexagenarian fisherman, but simply make 

 up his flybook with flies of the greatest prominence. I shall give a list 

 of these, and indicate their value that is, approximate value, for no one 

 in the world can surely determine the value of any lure, else were 

 fishing robbed of half its charm. I do not insist on a long list in the 

 education of the tyro, but I do most earnestly wish to impress on the mind 

 of the young fly fisher the necessity of learning his list and how to make 

 its members. This becomes the easier if such a beginner be a bit of an 

 entomologist, and to assist such an one I have not failed to give the 

 scientific names of most of the insects to be imitated, that their identity 

 may be recognised, and, if the user chooses, their natural history be 

 learned. 



Before going any further, perhaps a precis of what it is very desirable 

 for the angler-naturalist to know, viz., insect history, may be desirable. 

 Especially is the natural history of the ephemeridce curious and pheno- 

 menal. I purpose, however, not to extend my remarks on the various 

 flies and their different stages of existence to a length beyond that really 

 desirable for angling purposes. The fisherman who is able to intelligently 

 imitate his fly, and not only imitate but select with judgment the fly 

 which is most plentiful, or seems to be the particular favourite of the 

 fish of the locality in that season, must possess an advantage as com- 

 pared with the ignorant fly fisher hardly capable of over-estimation. I 

 cannot sufficiently urge on all who intend making themselves really 

 accomplished anglers, to combine as far as possible with their actual 

 fishy lore a knowledge, at least elementary, of the various natural sur. 

 roundings of their occupation. Such knowledge is more than good it is 

 inestimable. The flies employed by the angler are chiefly born of the water. 

 The most generally used are comprised under two orders the Neuroptera, 

 or nerve- winged (with veined wings like the drakes) and the Trichoptera, 

 or hairy- winged (like the sandfly, cinnamon, silver horns, &c.); but 



